Scientific and medical laboratories often have variable equipment and storage requirements. Not only do these requirements differ between different laboratories conducting different work, but they can often differ within the same laboratory conducting various aspects of the same general type of work. Various amounts and types of work surfaces, storage units and the like are required, and these in turn are often affected by the kind of equipment being utilized. Such equipment often has particular electrical, gas, compressed air, or water supply requirements. In addition, various personnel are typically involved and it is desirable to locate the work surfaces, storage units, etc. at a convenient height. The work conducted in such laboratories can take place over either relatively short or long time periods, and a change in equipment, in personnel and/or in the type of work being conducted can affect the work surface and storage requirements, including both location and adjustability.
In the past, the common approach has been to custom design and permanently install furniture suited to the present or anticipated requirements. Such custom installations are quite expensive and do not provide the degree of versatility needed to adapt to the changing requirements of such laboratories. Attempts have been made to design or build more versatility into such custom installations, however, they have not been generally satisfactory and have provided only limited improvement. For example, it is sometimes necessary to rearrange the furniture in order to change the work surface and storage capacities in different areas of a laboratory. Customized furniture usually cannot be rearranged without at least some remodeling, which is expensive, time consuming and disruptive of work in other areas of the laboratory. Further, such rearrangement usually involves only relocation but not height adjustment. In addition, separate rearrangement of the electrical and plumbing corrections are often required. The customized approach to the installation of laboratory furniture is thus too rigid and does not provide the kind of versatility needed.
Some attempts have been made to devise laboratory furniture of greater versatility, however, these prior art attempts also have not been satisfactory because they have not provided the continuation of support and adjustability needed, nor the desired ease and convenience of initial assembly, adjustment after assembly, disassembly and reassembly as necessary. For example, some adjustable working surfaces and storage units are adapted only for mounting in a fixed position on a wall or other existing vertical surface, and are not capable either of convenient adjustment or of free standing use.
A need has thus arisen for an improved furniture supporting system which is adapted to provide more convenient assembly, adjustment, relocation and versatility, particularly in a laboratory setting.